Schumpeter Sees Peaceful Socialist Spread as Sweezy Remains Skeptical

NO WRITER ATTRIBUTED
March 28, 1947

Expropriation of the expropriators according to the Marxian formula for the last lays of capitalism has already come about declared Joseph A. Schumpeter, professor of Economics, in debate last night with Paul M. Sweezy, noted theorist on socialism.

Those who are struggling for the proletarian revolution have already seen their dream partly realized, he charged.

Composed mostly of graduate students in Economics, last night's Littauer gathering first heard Sweezy, author of "The Theory of Capitalist Development," assert that capitalism has shown increasing stability and violent fluctuations.

Schumpeter's rebuttal channeled the argument into the historical advances of capitalism in lifting the general standard of living and per capita well-being. By taxation and labor ascendance, he predicted, this progressive revolution of increasing plenty will be complete in about forty years.

"What chance is there, looking at our depressions," Sweezy parried, "that the American capital economy can passively recover its post-depression equilibrium without the outside shot in the arm of a war?"

The debate, which was Sweezy's second public appearance of the week, occurred before a capacity crowd in the Littauer Auditorium.